Crimped-end garment hanger



' Jan. 31, 1967 A. BRASWELL 3,301,446

I CRIMPED-END GARMENT HANGER Filed June 5, 1964 INVENTOR. REUBEN A. BRASWELL ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,301,446 CRIMPED-END GARMENT HANGER Reuben A. Braswell, 1218 Oakview Road,

Decatur, Ga. 30030 Filed June 5, 1964, Ser. No. 373,019 1 Claim. (Cl. 223-98) This invention relates to garment hangers and is particularly concerned with an improved modification of the conventional wire hangers widely used in the garment industry, particularly in laundry and drycleaning establlishments.

It is a currently common expedient in the use of the conventional wire hangers to provide paper, cardboard or plastic guards of generally inverted U-shaped crosssection mounted over the straight transverse horizontal bottom rail; such guards act to protect trousers and the like against transverse creasing or injury due to prolonged suspension at a sharp return bend over the bare thin horizontal rail. Further, in the absence of such guard, paint, lacquer or rust from the rail may soil the garment. Frequently such guards also include a frictional area on the upper face to inhibit slippage of the garment and possible disengagement from the hanger.

The wire garment hangers now most commonly in use are characterized by a horizontal rail terminating at each end in an upwardly and inwardly inclined hanger arm, the upper ends of which are joined, one end being bent to provide the suspension hook. The immediate inward turning of the lower extremeties of the arms to join the horizontal rail forms an open internal angle at the junction of the arms with the rail. The inverted U-shaped guard is characteristically formed of a length slightly exceeding the length of the rail, with the ends slotted so that the guard may be placed straddling the rail with the slotted ends receiving the arms at their juncture with the rail in such manner that the extension of the guard ends beyond the rail is depended upon to retain the guards in position. In practice it has been found that the guards being of weak material readily deformable and easily misshapen, are frequently displaced from their location on the rail in handling of the empty hangers or in"'the application and removal of garments by which the guards are subjected to pulling action by frictional action with the garments.

It is therefore among the primary objects of the invention to provide :a clothes hanger with improved means for retaining a conventional inverted U-sha-ped guard upon the horizontal rail of the garment hangers. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a configuration of the wire coat hanger by which the ends of a guard are retained between closely adjacent terminal interconnecting portions of the arms and rail. A further object of the invention is to provide a wire coat hanger of the type described in which the juncture of the arms with the ends of the rail provides a restricted channel for receiving and retaining the ends of a guard. In one form of the invention it is an object to provide an actual clamping or frictional engagement of the ends of the guards at the juncture of the hanger arms and the transverse rail. It is also an object of the present invention to provide, in combination with means for restraining a guard on the transverse rail of a hanger, means to receive and retain garment elements such as shoulder straps. Such disposition of the ends of the arms in parallel or inclined relation to the terminal ends of the rail may also provide convenient support for clothing accessories such as belts, ties and the like. These and other objects of the present invention will be apparent from the consideration of the following specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

3,301,446 Patented Jan. 31, 1967 FIG. 1 is a side elevation of one preferred form of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged detailed view of one end of the hanger showing the guard member as secured by the parallel return bent portions of the wire at the juncture of the arms and rail; and,

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 of that form of the invention providing a resilient grip of the guard ends and an inclined hook at the hanger ends.

Referring now to the drawings it will be seen that the v hanger disclosed by way of illustration is of generally diverging arms 12.

Thus in general it may be seen that the hanger here presented is generally conventional in basic configuration. However, it is to be understood that the distinguishing novel features hereinafter discussed are appli- 1 cable to -a wide variety of hangers of this general nature.

The present invention is therefore not limited to either a hanger formed of a single continuous length of wire, a wholly wire hanger or to a hanger hook formed by a single wire terminal portion. Further, it is believed obvious that in the present inventive concept the material from which the wire is formed, its gauge, physical characteristics, finish, or coating are not critical.

In that form of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the arms 12 are inclined downward and outwardly from the twisted portion at 11 and terminate in vertical shoulders 13' joining outward horizontal short flights 14 merging into return bend-s 15, constituting the juncture of the arms with the straight transverse garment supporting rail 16; thus, the ends of the rail 16 and the flights 14 define a channel 17. For protecting garments such as trousers and the like, against the formation of a crease by the support of the rail 16, and to protect such garments from injury by lacquer, paint or rust on the rail, "a conventional paper, cardboard or plastic guard 18 is provided of generally transverse U-shaped configuration. As in general practice, the total length of the guard 18 exceeds the length of the rail 16 and the guard ends are slit or recessed at 19 to form bifurcated ends 20. In applying the guard 18 to that form of the invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the ends of the guard are inserted in channel 17 to straddle the return bends 15 which are received in these slits 19 with their bifurcated ends 20' pro trading. Thus, in the form or" the invention presented in FIGS. 1 and 2, the hanger provides an elongate restricted channel to receive and secure an extended end portion of the central bend of the guard within the channel 17 to preclude accidental dislocation of the guard (from the hanger. It is to be noted that the shoulders 13 with the flights 14 define strap or accessory receiving pro ections.

In that form of the invention shown in FIG. 3, the

' lower ends of the arms 12 extend downward into close strap of a ladys garment, or such clothing accessories as' ties, belts or the like.

Therefore, it will be seen that the present invention provides novel and improved means for retaining a U- shaped elongate guard on the horizontal rail of an otherwise generally convention-a1 wire coat hanger. It will be seen also that the present inventive concept provides yieldable guard engagement, and that the horizontal or inclined extension of the terminal ends of the arms adjacent the ends of the rails provides an efiective and eflicient hanger for dress straps or clothing accessories and that the inclined configuration of FIG. 3 assists in preventing accidental displacement of the loop or strap of a garment suspended from extended arm and as well as providing a resilient guard engaging bight.

It will of course, 'be understood that the specific apparatus herein presented is by way of illustration only and is meant to be in no way restrictive; therefore, numerous changes and modifications may be made and the full use of equivalents resorted to without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as outlined in the appended claim.

What is claimed as invention is:

In a garment hanger formed of a single wire including a suspension hook, arms extending therefrom, a transverse hanger rail engaging the outer ends of said arms, and a loosely fitted guard mounted on said rail, the combination of means formed by said arms cooperating with said rail for restraining said guard against accidental displacement from said rail, said means including a sharp inward return bend of said arms at their engagement with said rail form-ing a channel for the reception of end portions of said guard, said return bent portions of said arms being inclined inwardly and downwardly toward said rail to define a yieldable restriction for frictional engagement of said guard between the inner surfaces of said arms and said rail and further to define along its exterior surface a receiving and retaining means for removable reception of looped portions of garments.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTSv 1,012,169 12/1911 Seipp 22391 2,011,265 8/1935 Young 223-88 2,107,026 2/1938 Coney 223-91 2,268,265 12/1941' Ruen 223-88 2,426,556 8/1947 Kohl 22388 2,431,818 12/1947 McFall 233-91 2,710,124 6/1955 Laumeyer 22388 2,827,212 3/1958 Deck 223-96 3,162,342 12/1964 Mueller et al. 22388 3,225,980 12/ 1965 Wieckmann 223-98 FOREIGN PATENTS 710,684 6/ 1954 Great Britain.

JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

G. H. KRIZMANICH, Assistant Examiner. 

